Mozilla News, Announcements, and More

Mozilla releases Firefox 3 and redefines the Web experience

Major performance enhancements and revolutionary “Awesome Bar” make Firefox 3 the fastest, smartest, most powerful browser Mozilla has ever released

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIF. – June 17, 2008 – Mozilla today released Firefox® 3, a major update to its popular and acclaimed free, open source Web browser. Firefox 3 is the culmination of three years of efforts from thousands of developers, security experts, localization and support communities, and testers from around the globe.

Available today in approximately 50 languages, Firefox 3 is two to three times faster than its predecessor and offers more than 15,000 improvements, including the revolutionary smart location bar, malware protection, and extensive under the hood work to improve the speed and performance of the browser.

“We’re really proud of Firefox 3 and it just shows what a committed, energized global community can do when they work together,” said John Lilly, CEO of Mozilla.

What’s New in Firefox 3:

The Web is all about innovation, and Firefox 3 sets the pace with dozens of new features to deliver a faster, more secure and customizable Web browsing experience for all.

User Experience. The enhancements to Firefox 3 provide the best possible browsing experience on the Web. The new Firefox 3 smart location bar, affectionately known as the “Awesome Bar,” learns as people use it, adapting to user preferences and offering better fitting matches over time. The Firefox 3 Library archives browsing history, bookmarks, and tags, where they can be easily searched and organized. One-click bookmarking and tagging make it easy to remember, search and organize Web sites. The new full-page zoom displays any part of a Web page, up close and readable, in seconds.

Performance. Firefox 3 is built on top of the powerful new Gecko 1.9 platform, resulting in a safer, easier to use and more personal product. Firefox 3 now uses less memory while it’s running, and its redesigned page rendering and layout engine means users see Web pages two to three times faster than Firefox 2.

Security. Firefox 3 raises the bar for security. The new malware and phishing protection helps protect from viruses, worms, trojans and spyware to keep people safe on the Web. Firefox 3’s one-click site ID information allows users to verify that a site is what it claims to be. Mozilla’s open source process leverages the experience of thousands of security experts around the globe.

Customization. Everyone uses the Web differently, and Firefox 3 lets users customize their browser with more than 5,000 add-ons. Firefox Add-ons allow users to manage tasks like participating in online auctions, uploading digital photos, seeing the weather forecasts, and listening to music, all from the convenience of the browser. The new Add-ons Manager helps users to find and install add-ons directly from the browser.

Mozilla Firefox 3 is available now for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X operating systems as a free download from http://www.getfirefox.com.

The release of Firefox 3 kicks off Download Day, the Mozilla community’s grassroots campaign to set a brand new Guinness World Record for the greatest number of software downloads in 24 hours. The worldwide community effort begins the minute Firefox 3 is released and will continue for a full day. For more information, please visit http://www.spreadfirefox.com/worldrecord/.

About Mozilla

Mozilla is a global community dedicated to building free, open source products and technologies that improve the online experience for people everywhere. We work in the open with a highly disciplined, transparent and cooperative development process, under the umbrella of the non-profit Mozilla Foundation. As a wholly owned subsidiary, the Mozilla Corporation organizes the development and marketing of Mozilla products. This unique structure has enabled Mozilla to financially support and cultivate competitive, viable community innovation. For more information, visit www.mozilla.com.

FAQ

Q: When is Firefox 3 available?
A: Firefox 3 is available now for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X operating systems as a free download from http://www.getfirefox.com.

Q: What’s new in Firefox 3?
A: Firefox 3 is the fastest, leanest, most powerful browser Mozilla has ever released. With over 15,000 improvements, including the revolutionary smart location bar, malware protection, and extensive under the hood work, Firefox 3 delivers the Web without compromise.

Q: I keep hearing about the “Awesome Bar” – what is that?
A: The Awesome Bar is the affectionate name for the new Firefox 3 Smart Location Bar. The new location bar learns as you use it, adapting to your preferences and making your browsing more personal. When you type in text, the auto-complete function displays possible matching sites from your browsing history, bookmarks, and tags. This makes it easy to scan the list and quickly identify the site you want to visit. Our beta testers started calling it the Awesome Bar and the name stuck!

Q: Firefox 3 feels blazing fast even though I have a zillion tabs open. How does it do that?A: Firefox 3 represents nearly three years of development and includes significant performance improvements to run today’s most demanding Web applications. Firefox 3 uses significantly less memory and is overall two to four times faster than Firefox 2.

Q: I use Firefox 2 – how do I upgrade to Firefox 3?
A: You can upgrade to Firefox 3 by visiting http://www.getfirefox.com and clicking on the big green Firefox 3 free download button. Congratulations, you’re moments away from the best browsing experience ever!

Q: Is Firefox 3 available in my language?
A: Firefox 3 is available in over 45 languages – more than any other browser. For a complete list of available language versions, please visit: http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/all.html.

Q: How can I get a quick overview of Firefox 3?
A: We’ve created a Firefox Features page at http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/features/. This is the best place to learn all about the exciting new and enhanced features in Firefox 3.

Q: How can I get more out of Firefox 3?
A: We’ve created a nifty Tips and Tricks site with shortcuts and suggestions to help you whether you’re a beginner, intermediate, or advanced user. You can access the site here: http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/tips/.

Q: What if I’m feeling particularly technical?
A: You can take a deep dive into the release notes to find out what’s new, system requirements, troubleshooting tips, and known issues. You can view the release notes here: http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/3.0/releasenotes/.

Q: What is Firefox’s market share?
A: While we don’t track this information ourselves, there are many groups that do. Overall, we estimate Firefox market share is about 20% worldwide based on numbers from a variety of sources. We monitor these numbers and then see how they track to our growth of daily active users of Firefox. We can’t confirm the specific market share percentages they offer however we do see correlating trends.

Customization

Q: How can I customize Firefox 3?
A: Firefox is the most customizable browser on the planet. With over 5,000 add-ons available and new ones developed every day, you can add features to Firefox or simply change its appearance. In Firefox 3, you can view and install add-ons directly from the browser. Access the Add-ons Manager by clicking on Tools->Add-ons. The Mozilla community at addons.mozilla.org helps you select the right add-on through ratings, recommendations, descriptions, and images. You can learn more about add-ons here: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/customize/

Q: Will my add-ons work with Firefox 3?
A: Many add-ons are already compatible with Firefox 3. In Firefox 3, add-ons can be installed only if they can be securely updated. Firefox automatically checks the installed versions of add-ons and alerts you if new versions are available. Also, Mozilla can now disable add-ons and plugins that are known to introduce a privacy or security concern.

Security

Q: How will Firefox 3 help keep me safer online?
A: Firefox 3 raises the bar for security. New malware and improved anti-phishing protection helps keep you safer from viruses, worms, trojan horses and spyware on the Internet. Firefox 3’s one-click site ID information checks on suspicious sites and avoids Web forgeries to ensure a site is what it claims to be. Mozilla’s open source process leverages the experience of thousands of security experts around the globe. You can learn more here: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/security/

Q: What’s the passport guy doing in the browser? Who is “Larry”?
A: Larry is the friendly Passport Officer who helps you determine whom you’re dealing with online. He helps you see at a glance whether the Web site you’re visiting has supplied information about its identity, which organization verified that information, and whether they protect your information from eavesdroppers. You can learn more about Larry and what he’s doing to keep you safe online here: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/security/identity/.

Q: How often do you release updates?
A: We release a stability and security update approximately every six to eight weeks, which is delivered through Firefox’s automatic update feature. We are also committed to issuing patches if a vulnerability is discovered that warrants an immediate response outside of our regular schedule. Browser security is ever evolving and new potential vulnerabilities are regularly discovered by our dedicated team of researchers as part of our Quality Assurance process.Security updates are standard and critical to providing users with the experience they have come to trust.

Q: Traditional software companies take much longer to issue updates – how are you able to turn them around so quickly?
A: Mozilla has hundreds of contributors that are involved in creating and distributing these security updates. These contributors are passionate about producing the safest and most secure software available.At the heart of Firefox is a global, open source development process driven by a large community of passionate contributors: thousands of experienced developers, security experts, localization and support communities in over 40 countries, and tens of thousands of active testers. Our transparency and active community of experts help to ensure our products are more secure and are updated quickly.

Download Day

Q: What/when is Download Day?
A: Download Day is a worldwide Firefox community campaign to set a brand new Guinness World Record for the largest number of software downloads in 24 hours. The record-setting attempt is planned for the launch day for Firefox 3, also known as Download Day. Mozilla is inviting its global community to spread the word and join the effort by pledging to download Firefox 3 and hosting regional download “fests.”

Q: How can I get involved with Download Day?
A: Firefox fans can support the mission to set a Guinness World Record on Download Day by pledging to download Firefox 3, hosting a Firefox 3 party, inviting friends to participate, or by placing Download Day buttons on their Web sites.To take part in Download Day and help us set the Guinness World Record: